Most of the time in the summertime things are relatively comfortable for a critic. You may have a brief walk in hot and/or humid weather from wherever you park your car, but then you get to a nice air conditioned theatre, you pick up an icy cold bottle of water, and you sit for a couple hours under the cool air and by the time you come out, the sun has gone down, the cement has cooled and it's a comfortable walk to your air conditioned car.
In my first couple of years as a critic, I hated the nights when Music Circus opened a show. Music Circus, for many, many years, performed in a big circus tent. The audience sat in things that resembled movie directors chairs. There were swamp coolers that blew cold air in that got to maybe a couple of rows, but it was hot and uncomfortable and the chairs were murder, especially on generous butts.
California Musical Theatre, of which Music Circus is the summer wing, built this big expensive new theatre, still in the shape of a circus tent, but with comfy seats, real walls and, best of all, working air conditioning. It made reviewing those summer shows much more appealing.
But today I couldn't escape the heat. I had made arrangements to meet Jared Martin, a young filmmaker I interviewed a year or so ago about his first film, The Lost Boys of Sudan. Jared has a new film showing in the upcoming Sacramento Film Festival and I had made arrangement to meet him at a table outside Peet's Coffee, where we met last time, for another interview.
Of course when I made the arrangement, I had no idea how hot it was going to be today. I tried to find a table indoors, unsuccessfully, so I sat outside and waited for Jared, sweat pouring off my face. We had a nice discussion about his new film, Smiley.
It was delightful to spend some time with this talented young man again and to get caught up on what his original film has done (talk of it being picked up by a cable channel; some interesting folks finding it on YouTube, etc.)
It wasn't the most comfortable interview I've ever done and I noticed that when we parted, he went into Peet's with a cup in his hand...I'm sure I could have suggested moving inside where it was cool and he would have been as happy as I would have been!
I really wasn't looking forward to the evening, when I was set to review three one-act plays for Barnyard Theatre. Barnyard Theatre is a real barn...
...which, like Mickey and Judy before them, a group of theatre kids turn into a working theatre in the summers. This is the 7th season and they have done marvelous creative things here, but it is a barn, which is open to the elements, and the goats, sheep, horses and chickens who live here when the actors go home. The theatre company sprays patrons with bug spray to help with the mosquitoes who are frequent guests as well.
I had visions of sitting there, sweating, outside watching the first of the three plays, which was held under a tree near the barn,
and then sweltering as we entered the barn for the second of the three plays.
Actually, as the sun began to sink into the Vaca Mountains, it became damn chilly and I was glad that the entire show was only a couple of hours long, and sorry I hadn't brought some sort of wrap with me.
But the plays were good and told unusual stories that you don't often see, so it was worth it.
Today is supposed to be another triple-digit day, but we're going to fight the heat by going downtown to see Toy Story III. Controled temperatures...and I don't have to write anything about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment